Asian Track Cycling Championships | India finishes with nine senior medals
At the men's sprint competition on Wednesday at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, India's Ronaldo Singh won a historic silver medal, bringing an end to Asian Track Cycling Championship 2022. Chayanika Gogoi also won a bronze medal in the 10 km women's scratch race, giving India nine medals.
On his 20th birthday, Wednesday, Ronaldo won the semi-final match against Kazakhstan's Andrey Chugay, who would go on to win the bronze medal. Ronaldo finished last in the opening race, but he recovered to win the following two to go to the championship event.
The Indian junior world number one, however, was unable to keep up against seasoned Japanese competitor Kento Yamasaki, who dominated the first two races to take home the gold. India won its first individual silver medal at an Asian competition.
“Gold was in my mind but I’m also happy with the first-ever silver,” Ronaldo said. “This is the best-ever performance of my career and in every tournament, I improved my technique, this is most important.” Ronaldo Singh already has three medals from the 2022 competitions. He previously took home bronze in the team sprint and 1 km time trial.
But on Wednesday, 19-year-old Chayanika Gogoi became the first Indian to win a medal with bronze after defeating pre-tournament favorite Rinata Sultanova of Kazakhstan in the 10km women's scratch race finals. Youri Kim of Korea took home the gold, and Kie Furuyama of Japan took home the silver. The last day of competition on the Velodrome included 10 events' finals.
Alongside the top races, junior and para competitions featured strong performances by Indian cyclists. 14 medals total—two gold, five silver, and seven bronze—were won by junior and para-athletes. With 18 gold, seven silver, and two bronze medals, Japan had the most total medals (senior, junior, and para combined). With 12 gold, 14 silver, and 3 bronze medals, Korea came in second.
The Indian cycling team concluded their season with a total of 23 medals, which included two gold, six silver, and fifteen bronze. This was India's best-ever showing at the world championships. The 41st Asian Track Cycling Championships include competitors from 15 nations, and the points scored there will go toward the cyclists' selection for the Paris 2024 Olympics.